another round with the law

And I didn’t even cry this time. 🙂

I attended the HOA ARB meeting tonight, to discuss how one might go about building a Japanese rock garden that would meet with HOA guidelines, and was surprised to find that they all thought my garden was beautiful. One of the members, seeing me on the agenda, even came to my house to check it out, and was surprised to find a flowerbed filled with dirt.

The problem seemed to be, however, that they had turned down tons of other people for having rocks in landscaping. Because, really, what they want to have a rule on, is “no white trashiness.” Since that is not quantifiable, they instead made a rule of “no rocks in landscaping.”

They have allowed people to have “foundation” rocks, within the first 18 inches from the house. And they would like to see “more green” in my garden. I’ll certainly try with the “more green” part, but I was not blessed with a green thumb – nothing I plant will stay green for long …

So, I got some … tips … on adding more green, and making things more zenny, so I’ll make up another design, resubmit, and see where it goes from there.

I also told them I want to participate in the HOA. That should win me points, right? I actually really do want to join some HOA board, because someday, I want to work my way up to be in charge of sending out letters to “offenders.” Because the letter they sent me made me cry. (Now, I didn’t even cry at my own wedding. I wasn’t one of those teenage girls who ran to my room in tears all the time. So the fact that they brought me to tears is an impressive feat.) Nine times out of ten, the offender isn’t going out of their way to be offensive or neglectful. It’s just an oversight or a lack of knowledge about rules – so there’s no reason to get snippy and make people feel like criminals and not give them any options other than “comply in 10 days or you will be fined.”

So, if I’m on the board the next time my application comes around, I’ll be just one step closer to my own personal zen.